Welcome to Hitchin Forum

The District’s Local Plan is dated 1996 and is currently being revised for the period up to 2031. Consultation closes on November 30th. It considers the local economy, the town centre, housing and the green belt, transport & the environment.

We have concerns about our town and environment, both the buildings and those often neglected bits between them. We are very keen that both the District and County Councils are helped to maintain and develop those spaces.

Looking after the footpaths and clearing litter are two practical ways to help. We have been liaising closely with the County Officer over footpaths and our latest report to him can be found here – Hitchin Footpath Problems August 2016. Our Big Spring Clean in April is reported here & our next effort is due in April 2017.We are really pleased when the Councils do a good consultation about developments and have tried to identify good practice and have talked at Hitchin Committee about this – read here for a summary of this. We have recently responded to consultations on green spaces – at Oughtonhead and Purwell Meadows. If you have any comments on this do let our chairman know – on chairman@hitchinforum.org.uk

Bancroft Recreation Ground is gradually being refurbished, the water splash has been created and new plans are being made. The plans incorporate an opening up of the area along the river and installingplay features for older children. Further information is on the Council’s website.

Air Quality in Hitchin
For some years, measurements of the gas nitrogen dioxide (NO2), overwhelmingly due to motor vehicle exhaust fumes, have exceeded acceptable levels at several points in Stevenage Road. NHDC declared an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) there in 2013, and prepared an Action to address the issue. An updated Screening and Assessment Report on more recent measurements is available on the NHDC website, which shows little change in Stevenage Road, and deterioration in the Paynes Park area. Read more here.

Butts Close is due for a change. There is now a Greenspace Action Plan, produced by NHDC & the Countryside Management Service. Following consultations the plan has been finalized and work is due to start in April. The plan is available here. A new information board is being designed – Butts Close draft . The Friends of Butts Close have commented on this in their newsletters and have also published their objections to a proposed car park extension – read here .There is more about the Friends November 2015 newlsetter , including some history and local activities.

Careful where you walk!

Hitchin Forum has been working over the past few years to improve footpaths in the town. Hitchin has a network of over 100 footpaths and bridleways (mapped here) and we would like to encourage walking to reduce traffic congestion and improve health. We have recently liaised with the local Countryside Access Officer to consider what can be done to improve and maintain this network within the town – a new handrail on St John’s Path is one product of this. We rely on people noting what needs to be reported – can you help take care of the footpaths? – find out more here.

Churchgate The latest news seems to be that there is no news. The prospect of Hammersmatch refurbishing the shops and developing the upper storeys for residential accommodation appears unlikely. The Churchgate Working Party is inactive. NHDC have set up a ‘Task & Finish Group’ to look at its handling of ‘Larger Projects’ and they had an unpublicized meeting about Churchgate, which excluded public participation. More about that in due course… More on the saga here.

Hitchin Town Action Group or just HTAG, is comporised of Hitchin Forum, The Hitchin Society and Hitchin Historical Society, with support from Hitchin Initiative. It coordinates responses to major issues that effect the town. The societies are at present working together on a response to the District Local Plan, with the planning of new housing throughout the district.

What else do we do?

The Forum exists to develop and channel energy and enthusiasm for the town. We work to highlight things that we think need to change and improve the environment, and challenge developments that we think will damage our heritage and future. Information on all of our current and recent campaigns, issues and concernsare available here.

Hitchin Forum was formed in 1992 as a non-political umbrella to bring together people and organizations who want to maintain and enhance Hitchin’s special character. It enables the views of people who live and work in Hitchin to be presented in a co-ordinated manner to relevant bodies. – more history is here.

Do join us! Anyone with an interest in Hitchin can join the Forum, either as an individual or as a nominated representative of an organization in the town. If you do want to be more involved then tell us – we often need an extra pair of hands! But – there is no obligation to do more than sign up – that is support enough. It is important that we have a wide membership base, partly so that we can hear a wide range of opinions, and also that we hear about issues in all corners of the town – membership details here.

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We always welcome more ideas on what is important, and also your support in what we do. If you want to keep up to date on what's happening join and find out! Click here about membership.